Politics

Mali’s junta sets date for presidential elections. Will that stop ECOWAS sanction?

Published

2 years ago

July 1, 2022

The military junta in Mali has adopted an electoral calendar with a presidential election set for February 2024.

The transition plan was announced three days before a summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which is due to consider the tough sanctions imposed on the junta in January.

The spokesman to the government, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, who is also Minister of Territorial Administration, on state television on Thursday said “our authorities are further paving the way for a return to constitutional order in Mali, the scene of two coups d’état led by the same group of colonels in August 2020 and May 2021.”

“The government finds this timetable (electoral and referendum) realistic,“ he added.

According to official documents sent to the media, the junta also set a date for referendum on the new constitution for March 2023.

The calendar also revealed that legislative elections are to be held between October and November 2023, and local elections in June 2023.

In June, Mali’s military junta led by Colonel Assimi Goita created a body charged with responsibility for writing a new Constitution. The government had through a decree read on state television said that Bamako will be returned to civil rule after twenty months.

Regional bloc, ECOWAS in reaction to the 24 months transition plan, says it regrets the decision of Colonel Goita to extend the duration of the transition.

Recall that earlier in the week the junta announced new electoral law which permits Colonel Goita and other military service men to contest for the projected 2024 elections.

The move puts Mali in the eye of observers again as it suggests Goita is getting ready to join the undemocratic train of previous African leaders like Jerry Rawlings in Ghana, Omar al-Bashir in Sudan, Gnassingbé Eyadéma in Togo, Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire who succeeded themselves in a military to civil transition.

Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a diplomatic spat over their imprisonment, France and Morocco announced Thursday that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso for a year had been freed after mediation from Morocco.

They were spies, according to a prior statement made by the director of France’s foreign intelligence organisation, the DGSE.

A request for comment was not answered by the DGSE or a representative of the French military, which is in charge of the agency.

Since December 2023, they have been held in Ouagadougou.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed King Mohammed of Morocco on Wednesday for his intervention, “which made possible the liberation of our four countrymen who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year,” according to a statement from the French administration.

King Mohammed and President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso were also commended by Morocco’s foreign ministry, which stated that “this humanitarian act” was made possible by their positive bilateral ties.

In October, France made peace with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, after three years of hostilities between Paris and Rabat stoked by immigration concerns and the disputed Western Sahara region.

Morocco offers Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahel republics Atlantic trade.

However, France’s relations with former West and Central African colonies, such as Burkina Faso, remain difficult. In Ouagadougou, French troops and diplomats were ejected, the defence attache and ambassador were asked to depart, and certain French media were suspended.

The military junta that took control in 2022 in Burkina Faso has been criticized by international rights groups for cracking down on free expression and harassing dissidents to handle a security crisis precipitated by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists.

Politics

Ghana: President-elect Mahama appoints anti-corruption team

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has designated an anti-corruption committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

When he takes office next month, Mahama, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential election held on December 7 and who received almost 56% of the vote, has pledged to reclaim the proceeds of corruption and hold those responsible for it accountable.

In anticipation, an anti-graft squad has been established. The parliament’s Committee on Assurances, which has previously raised suspicions of governmental corruption, is chaired by MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah.

An investigative journalist, a private attorney, a former auditor general, and a former police officer with experience in high-profile robbery cases make up the other three members.

After looking into alleged financial irregularities that took place during the previous administration, Daniel Dumelovo, the former auditor general, was fired.

Recovering lost assets and fighting corruption were two of Mahama’s main campaign pledges.

“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.

Eight years after leaving office, former President Mahama is back to head the West African country. Despite not being personally contaminated, he faced criticism during his 2012–2016 administration due to claims of political corruption.